There's a Fire That Never Goes Out
by SummerJane'10
Summary: Alternate ending to Shadowland. Haven does die and Roman gives Damen the cure. Haven's cousin, Erica, comes to town and immediately captures Roman's attention. Is she just another way to torture Ever for what she did to Drina? Or is she something more?
1. Prologue

_**There's a Fire That Never Goes Out**_

**PROLOGUE - 3 Months Ago…**

Roman looked at Haven's dead body, lying across the floor. His eyes were hard and emotionless. He could vaguely hear Ever's cries; she had tried to save her friend at the last minute but had failed. She was a failure, though she had done what he had wanted, he could feel nothing but disgusted by her weakness. He looked up to see the look on Damen's face, like he was about to kill him.

"Ah, ah, ah." He mocked, waging his finger, "You're not cured yet. If you kill me you never will be." Roman's lips turned up into a cruel smile. Damen's face filled with hate and sadness. Shouldn't he be happy? He was about to have Ever back? That's what he wanted. So why is he being so ungrateful? Empathy. Yuck, Roman hated that word. Not only did he not truly understand what it meant but he also didn't understand why Damen wanted to feel it… why he wanted to be more mortal. Mortal meant weakness to Roman, and he hated weakness.

"You got what you wanted!" It was Ever who spoke, kneeling beside her best friend's corpse, "Now give us the cure." Roman cocked his head to one side. This was what he had wanted wasn't it? Well, a deal was a deal. He took out a small glass tube. Damen reached out for it but Roman pulled it out of his reach.

"Not so fast." Roman smiled as he spoke, "I want a guarantee."

"What kind of guarantee?" Ever's voice was ice cold. She hated him. He didn't blame her.

"A guarantee that you won't try and harm me in anyway after I give it to you." Roman reconsidered his phrase, "Not that you could. But still, I don't want you to make things unpleasant. You see I like it here and I plan to stay here for at least the end of high school." Roman smiled at them. Ever nodded, defeated. He had broken her. _That was my goal wasn't it? _He thought to himself. Yes, and he had succeeded.

"How can we guarantee you that?" Damen asked. His whole body was stiff. He looked like he would like nothing better than to rip Roman apart limb by limb.

"First of all you can stop standing like that. Secondly you can take an oath." Damen's eyes remained like stone.

"You just want our word for it?" Ever askedbetween sobs. God she was stupid sometimes.

"It's not that kind of oath." Damen clarified, "It's a binding spell basically. It will make sure we keep our promise." Roman smiled at the two of them.

"All that excitement for later." Roman said. He looked down at Haven's lifeless body once more, "First we have to dispose of _her_."


	2. Chapter 1  Fire and Ice

**CHAPTER I – Fire and Ice**

Roman walked into the school with a cocky grin on his face, a leather jacket and jeans on his body and nothing in his heart. _Ah, first days… _he thought to himself, _there's nothing like them. _Stacia came over to hug him and to talk to him about… something. He wasn't sure what. He didn't care. She was boring, stupid and not charming at all. The only thing nice about her was her ass and even that didn't inspire him to want to hook up with her. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and pretended to be interested in what she was saying… until her boyfriend came and took her away. Thank god for that. He was actually thankful to the equally stupid Craig, who was obviously gay. He didn't know why others couldn't see that when it was so obvious. Roman watched them go. The beginning of the day passed by with an endless sea of meaningless conversations and longing looks from broken-hearted summer flings. It was nothing new. Nothing could get in his way today.

Roman seldom looked back on three months prior when he had grudgingly cured Ever and Damen from their "no touchy" spell and had bound them to accept that he would be around and they couldn't do a damn thing about it. The wonderfully perceptive Orange County police had found Haven's body complete with an empty bottle of painkillers and had ruled the death as a suicide because come to think of it she did seem a bit on edge. Ever and that gay kid… what's him name… openly mourned the loss of their friend and no one was the wiser. Now it was time to move on with his life. So why wasn't he back in Venice with a beautiful model from Milan in his bed? That was a good question. There was something about torturing the girl who had killed the ex-love of his life that never got old. Maybe he was being a bit harsh. No… he didn't think so. Markus, his immortal friend came up to him in the hall, Markus didn't say much to anyone but him. His background was very vague but none of that mattered to Roman. He was reliable and immoral, that's all that mattered.

"Hey mate." Roman greeted him.

"Hey." Markus replied. He was smiling broadly. It was out of character.

"What are you so happy about?" Roman asked. Markus looked up at him, he was distracted with his thoughts.

"Nothing. New sophomore." He said. He was being vague and ominous… not out of character.

"She hot or something?" Roman asked. Not clueing in to why he was wearing that stupid smile.

"She's beautiful… if you're into mortals." Roman rolled his eyes at Markus's reply. Why was it so hard to have a conversation with him?

"So why are you smiling?" Roman asked point blank. Dragging Markus' attention back to him.

"Listening to the thoughts of these teenage boys… that's why I'm smiling." Markus' smile grew wider. Roman laughed. He hadn't tuned in to the student body around him yet. He wasn't in the mood to hear hormonal boys fantasize about one girl anyways. It was nauseating seeing what went through their heads sometimes. Fascinating, but disgusting. Markus seemed amused though.

"Who is she?" Roman asked.

"That girl you killed… Haven… her cousin or something. Far as I can tell, her family moved up here from New York to be with the dead girl's family during these 'difficult times'." Markus scoffed as if the idea was ridiculous to him. Roman was loosing interest. Who cares about some sophomore girl? Teenage girls were over rated, when he had women from around the world at the tip of his fingers. Real women too, not silly little girls who only cared about themselves, "Oh yeah," Markus added, "She's been hanging out with Ever and them."

"This girl just got a lot more interesting." Roman smiled mischievously.

"Common leave 'em alone. Aren't you ever going get bored with playing around with Ever… you already killed her best friend. What else can you do?" Markus looked disapproving.

"The possibilities are endless my friend." Roman smiled. Markus just shook his head and frowned, "Why are you so protective of her all of a sudden?" Roman scrutinized Markus. He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't give a shit about Ever and that motley crew." Markus responded sharply.

"What then? You care about the girl? You haven't even met her." Roman teased, "You want to screw her or something?"

"No. As I said, I'm not into mortals. She just…" Markus paused, "She doesn't really look like she deserves it." Roman turned away from him; "You can't take what happened to Drina out on everyone you meet." Roman spun around angrily.

"I told you never to say that name to me." He whispered. His voice dripping with distain. His eyes blazing. Markus took a step back and mumbled an apology, "I can do whatever and whoever I want." Roman hissed. Saying Drina's name put a fire in him. Eventually, his shoulders relaxed and he regained his cool. Roman took a deep breath in and exhaled it slowly.

"Roman! You never called!" Roman's focus was averted to some girl he had shagged over the summer and never called back. Markus slipped back into the flow of students just as the bell rang. Saving Roman from a list of excuses he would have to make up for the girl standing in front of him. He made his way to his first class.

Trigonometry. What a useless subject. The stupidity of the whole thing made him sick. Society had really dumbed down in the last hundred years or so. How could they think that they were ever going to need this in the real world? The ridiculousness of it was overwhelming. Someone tapped him on his shoulder and passed him a note. He winked at the girl and she blushed and indicated that it wasn't her but the girl behind her that had written it. Stacia. He opened the folded piece of paper, making sure that the teacher's attention was fully devoted to his useless lesson plan. _Want to hang out tonight? My parents are going out and won't be home till real late… _She might as well have said, _Want to have sex on my couch while the Hills is playing in the background? _Been there, done that. I scribbled, _what about your boyfriend? _It was a stupid thing to write; she didn't care about queer Craig. I got a note back pretty quickly. _What about him? _ It said. Roman snorted quietly. He sent one more note back that said, _I'll think about it. _He didn't get one back. Roman wasn't like every other boy in this school, obsessed with Stacia. He didn't even like her. Usually that didn't matter to him… it was just sex. But there was something about her that really pissed him off. She had been trying to get to him since the day he transferred and still hadn't made any progress. Can't she take a hint? The next class he had with Ever and Damen, she couldn't even look at him where as Damen glared. Hatred and revulsion overcame his expression. Roman just smiled and gave him a little wave. _Ungrateful twat, _he thought bitterly, _he can try to shag his girlfriend again; he should be kissing the ground where I walk. _

Lunch for a person who doesn't eat is pretty much a waste of time. He sat on the outdoor table with the popular crowd and soaked up the California sun. He had to admit, he loved this small state. He loved the sunshine, the wealth, and the beaches… even Schwarzenegger. Roman smiled and adjusted the Ray-Bans covering his eyes. "That girl is way too pretty to be hanging out with that brand of loser." Stacia said to her group of disciples. They all agreed and nodded.

"Her cousin just died, those were her cousin's friends." Markus said harshly. Appalled by how Stacia could take shallow bitch to a whole new level.

"Still." Stacia said disapprovingly, "What do you think Roman?" She was trying to get him to talk to her. To look at her in her new summer dress and realize that he wanted her. He turned to look at her.

"I haven't seen her yet." Roman said at last. She scowled slightly. Turned off by the fact that he didn't immediately agree with her.

"She's cute I guess… but not as pretty as you Stace." Someone said, sucking up to the queen bee. Everyone agreed and Stacia smiled, Roman was disgusted. Markus nudged him lightly and made an eye movement that pointed him to the girl everyone _must_ be talking about. Roman didn't know what to do at first. He sat there, totally frozen to the spot. There was only one intelligible thought going through Roman's mind in that moment, _Holy shit. _


	3. Chapter 2 The Spyder

Chapter II: The Spyder

Erica Anderson sat down at the lunch table next to her cousin's old friends. She had gotten to know them somewhat over the summer and though at times they acted a bit unusual, they were very nice to her and she didn't want to have to make all new friends at her new school.

"I still love your hair, how do you get it so perfect every single day?" Miles, the very cute but very gay guy, asked. Erica smiled warmly at him and shrugged. She put a hand through her brown-reddish hair and laughed.

"It's a secret." She said. He rolled his eyes. Erica looked around the lunch table. Ever was looking at Damen who was looking back at her. Ever looked sad and angry where as Damen looked to be controlling his emotions. She scrutinized them, it was almost as if they were having a conversation no one else could hear.

"Don't worry about it… they do it all the time." Mile reassured her. She raised one eyebrow and just smiled. _These people are really quite odd, _she thought to herself. She had only moved here because her parents thought it was the "right thing to do". She hadn't really known her cousin at all and wasn't particularly ecstatic about leaving New York City along with everything she knew and loved, behind. She didn't complain though. There had been a death in the family and she would seem very selfish if she had complained. Suddenly someone's hand gripped her very firmly, "Oh my god." Miles squeaked.

"What?" She whispered.

"Roman is coming over here! He hasn't talked to us since… well anyways he's coming over here. He's so gorgeous beyond belief." He whispered back excitedly. This outburst seemed to distract Ever and Damen from their staring contest and made them look up. Ever's eyes widened, Damen's narrowed. Erica had the impression that they didn't like Roman as much as Miles seemed to.

"Hey there." Erica didn't look up to see the speaker with the Australian ascent; she was too busy with the cap of her water bottle, unscrewing it and re-screwing it.

"Hey." Miles greeted him, "You want to sit down?" He asked hopefully.

"Actually I was just going to introduce myself to your new… friend. Seeing as she's new and everything." Roman said. Erica looked up at him for the first time. She struggled to not let her eyes pop out of her head. Miles was right. He was gorgeous. He put his Ray-Ban's on top of his blonde disheveled hair and gave her a perfect smile.

"Are you trying to steel Erica away from us?" Miles teased but you could tell he was hurt by Roman's rejection of his offer.

"Erica?" Roman asked, playing around with her name on his lips.

"Yeah, hi." She said and stuck out her hand to shake his, he took it. And warmth climbed from her hand up her arm. She smiled at him. He seemed distracted, like he was looking through her. He didn't let go of her hand, "Umm…" She tried pulling it away.

"Oh, sorry." He said quickly, withdrawing his hand. She smiled at him. He smiled back, but it wasn't a kind smile, it seemed more… calculated? Erica just smiled up at him. She didn't really understand why Ever and Damen wouldn't like him, he seemed nice to her.

"So…" She said. Raising one eyebrow at him. Wondering why he was staring at her so intently.

"Can I walk you to class?" He asked.

"No. You can't." Ever said. Cutting Erica off completely. Ever had been trying to be an older sister to Erica ever since she got here. And she was getting really sick of it. She liked Roman and she wanted him to walk her to class. End of story. She gave Ever a look at the same time Miles did.

"Sure, I'd like that." Erica said smiling innocently. Roman reached out to take her hand. In that moment he saw the future very clearly.

_Erica kissed him softly on the cheek. Trying to get his attention back on her. She seemed a little desperate for him to notice her. She handed him his red liquid, he took it and smiled up at her. He put it down on the side table, after sipping it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sat down in his lap. He loved how much control he had over her. She bit her lip nervously. _

_ "Don't worry love, it was amazing." He reassured her. Not referring to the drink. She still looked skeptical, "You didn't think so?" He laughed. He knew how she had felt; she didn't hold anything back last night. _

_ "I mean for me it was…" She hesitated before gushing, "Insanely beautifully wonderful but I mean… you have more experience than me." Roman kissed her on the lips roughly as if to prove his point. _

"Umm… Roman?" Erica asked. He snapped out of it. Only now realizing that he was staring into space. He took her arm silently and led her away. A smile crept across his face as he winked at Ever behind him. Roman didn't say anything to her, he seemed pretty pleased with himself. She looked at him skeptically, "What are you smiling so smugly about?" She asked.

"I get to walk you to class, what isn't there to smile about?" He said with a wink. Erica rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Don't believe me?"

"I don't know you." She said, stopping suddenly to face him. There was quite a bit of time till class started and students were just starting to populate the school again. Roman smiled back at her.

"What's there to know?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

"How did you end up here? I mean it's obvious you aren't born and bred California blood." She asked.

"I came for the water polo and dreadlocked surfers." Roman smiled wickedly, "Surfs up dude."

"Seriously." Erica urged on.

"Seriously?" Erica nodded. She wanted to know more about him. There was something about him that fascinated her. Roman looked at her in dead seriousness, "The love of my life encouraged me to drink this stuff, a potion really, that would make me live forever, as long as I kept drinking it. I was in love with her so I did. Weird stuff started happening to me, supernatural things. The girl still didn't see me as more than just a friend, she was so in love with her ex-husband who's in love with a girl who reappears every century or so. She spent her whole life chasing after him and killing his love every time she showed up. I slipped through the cracks. Flash-forward a few hundred years and my love's ex has found his reincarnated girlfriend again, here, my love follows him here but this time get' killed by the girlfriend. So I came here to make sure her life is a living hell after what she did to my love. I did some nasty things to her, killing her best friend in the process. But now I think I'll broaden my horizons maybe even take up a sport." Roman stopped and smiled at Erica, who's eyes had widened and was looking at him blankly, as sweetly as he could, "What about you?"

"You're such an asshole." Erica laughed and continued walking. Roman laughed too. She didn't believe him. Not one bit. He hadn't expected her to so he made something up as usual.

"My parents died leaving me a huge inheritance. Needed a change of scenery. Thought to myself… _California, lots of sunshine, nice beaches, beautiful girls in bikinis… why not?_" Roman said. Erica laughed again. She was beautiful. Totally and ridiculously cute beyond belief, "I love the red in your hair." Roman said and put his fingers through it. It reminded him of Drina. She blushed and thanked him shyly. He couldn't help but notice that her green eyes were glowing, "Seriously though, what about you?" She raised an eyebrow at him, sort of indicating that he should already know. He did. He just wanted to hear her perspective on things.

"My cousin died." She said and stopped.

"Haven… yes, I heard. I'm so-" He was cut off abruptly.

"Don't say you're sorry. Everyone says that." Her tone was annoyed and disapproving, "I'm so sick of people apologizing all the time! I didn't even know her that well and to be frank I don't exactly appreciate being moved here when the girl was so selfish as to take her own life." She ranted. For some reason she felt that Roman was trust worthy enough to tell this to, "I mean can you imagine? I understand that at that point you must be too caught up in your own misery to think about anyone else…. but it's so selfish. I mean her parents are a mess. Her ex-boyfriend and friends are severely traumatized. And they all blame themselves for not seeing the signs!" Erica hesitated before continuing and lowering her voice, "I'm not trying to speak badly of the dead or anything. I just think its selfish and pointless and a horrible thing to do to the people around you." Roman gazed at her for what seemed like an eternity, she could feel his eyes on her, "So that's what brings me to California." She finished and he smiled.

The rest of the day went by in a blissful haze, for Erica anyways. She was so free spirited and sweet to everyone she met. Roman didn't quite know what to do with her. On one hand she was beautiful and he definitely wanted her in his bed. On the other hand he wanted more than that and the image of their future was burning into his mind. Of course, fortunes change every second of every day. Things change. He could change what was going to happen. The question was… did he want to. He liked the idea of kissing her so casually, so affectionately. He seemed to have enjoyed himself the night before. _If I was going to see the future, why couldn't I have seen that? _He thought angrily. Erica wasn't talking. The silence was refreshing. He wanted to read her mind. So he did. He had never felt guilty about doing so to anyone before… but somehow he wanted her to have some privacy. It was too hard to resist the temptation however.

_Does he like me? _Erica was thinking, referring to Roman. _It's so hard to tell. I mean it's obvious he likes the idea of me. He probably wants to sleep with me. I hear he's that kind of guy. But I want… well I don't really know what I want. Do I want him? _Erica's attentions were suddenly averted when she saw Roman looking at her with an extremely amused expression on his face.

"What?" She asked, confused by his look. He closed the connection to her mind and shrugged to answer her question. They continued walking together to the parking lot.

"Do you need a ride?" Roman asked indicating at his brand new silver Audi R8 Spyder. Erica looked taken aback by the car for a moment. She blinked multiple times before gently brushing her hand over it.

"It's gorgeous." She said in a hushed tone. She was in awe.

"You a car fan?" He asked. Slightly surprised, she didn't seem like the type to be into that kind of thing. Most women seemed to think that as long as it could get you where you needed to go, the car didn't matter much.

"My brother is a mechanic." Erica explained, her eyes never leaving the car. Roman nodded in acknowledgement. She still hadn't answered his question.

"Want to see how it runs?" Roman asked. Raising one eyebrow. Her face lit up. He laughed at her eagerness. She was so innocent, such a doll, the perfect picture of a careless teenage girl. He had a sudden feeling that he was going to give her a wake up call… show her what life was really like. He didn't know if he liked the thought or not. He brushed it off and opened the passenger seat for her. She smiled and sat down on the black leather seat. Running her hand over the flawless material. Roman got into the drivers seat and happened to look across the parking lot. He met a pair of dark eyes. Damen was scowling, his hands crossed over his chest and his emotions clear. He didn't want Roman to do the same thing to Erica and he did to Haven. And Damen was going to try and protect her. But he couldn't protect her from everything. _Especially not her feelings… _Roman thought, his manipulative nature kicking in once again. He gave Damen a cocky grin then stepped on the accelerator and sped out of the parking lot. He hadn't quite decided where to take Erica yet… but the point was the she was there. In his passenger seat. With a future full of mistakes to make.


	4. Chapter 3 Drunk

**Chapter III – Drunk **

Roman was a terrifyingly fast driver. She should have guessed by the car he was driving but still. Erica thought she was going to be sick. Roman had his sunglasses on and was smiling as the wind blew around them. He looked over at Erica and her frightened expression and his smile grew even wider.

"You okay love?" He asked. She opened her eyes reluctantly to look at him.

"Could you please slow down?" She asked. Her eyes were wide and kept glancing back at the speedometer. Roman laughed a long laugh that scared her even more before pressing down on the accelerator ever so gently to make the car pick up the speed. Erica put her head in her hands and gave out a quiet scream, "Please?" She asked again. Too horrified to open her eyes. Roman smiled and decreased the speed. She skeptically removed her face from her hands and opened her eyes. She found that the current pace of travel was more to her liking and nodded once to Roman who was smirking at her. She shook her head annoyed at his smugness, "Where are you taking me?" She finally asked.

"Where do you think I'm taking you?" He asked in an amused tone. Erica looked around at her surroundings and found that she was home. Or at her aunt and uncle's house anyways, where they were staying while their new house was being renovated. She bit her lip and looked at Roman.

"Can you come in with me?" She asked after a long moment of hesitation.

"Why?" He responded. He seemed confused, "Are you afraid of someone?" He asked, concern leaking into his voice as much as he tried to keep it out. She shook her head. _There's no one home, _she thought, _that's the problem. _As if he had read her mind he laughed, "You're afraid of being alone?"

"Not being alone in general!" She cried defensively, he was still laughing, "Just in that house." She whispered, "I usually just walk around until people get home." She explained. Erica felt that there was a presence in that house when she was alone. It was so eerie.

"Fine." Roman said and got out of his car then walking towards the house. Erica running to catch up to him, he locked it as she closed the door.

"Thank you." She mumbled as she caught up to his faster pace. She took his hand to slow him down. She didn't know why he was being so jumpy. Roman looked back at her; he intertwined his fingers in hers. _Feels nice, _he mused to himself and smiled. She smiled back warmly. _This feels… right, _her thoughts practically jumped out at him. He looked away, grinning. It wasn't in a nice way though, it was the smile when a plan falls into place.

"So…" Roman said, "When are your parents coming home?" He asked.

"They're both working late tonight. My uncle will probably stumble in drunk at around 5 and my aunt, well it varies with her." Erica explained. She gave him a sad smile as she unlocked the door.

**30 minutes later…** they were both curled up on the couch… his arm was wrapped around her and she was leaning her shoulder against his chest. Erica was watching the television screen where as Roman was watching her with growing curiosity. He liked that when he touched her, even in a casual way, her thoughts got terribly excited where as her face remained cool and collected. She really knew how to play 'em. If only the guy she was trying to fool couldn't read her mind. The show was over, she was saying something in an annoyed tone about the way it had ended. Roman wasn't paying attention. She turned towards him and blushed. His eyes were burning into her skin. Roman leaned forwards slightly; their lips were so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath. She was ready for him to kiss her. She wanted him to, more than anything. It was weird; she didn't know anything about him other than the fact that she was becoming infatuated with him even if they have know each other for so little time. _Like Romeo and Juliet, _she thought innocently. A small smile played at Roman's lips, their lips were about to touch when the door flew open and they both pulled away from each other.

"Uncle John?" Erica asked in a small voice, "Are you… okay?" The man at the door looked at Roman with an indifferent expression before his gaze stopped on Erica. A half empty bottle of whisky was swinging freely in his right hand.

"You are so…" Uncle John slurred, "Fucking perfect all the time aren't you? You aren't like Haven at all. You're not trying to rebel or to pick a fight. You dress nicely and act nicely. Perfect grades, perfect friends, perfect boyfriends…" His glare returned to Roman once more, "You would never do this to your parents. You wouldn't kill yourself and ruin their lives, would you angel?" Erica remained silent. She put her hand in her lap and just stared down at them, tears stingy in her eyes, "Of course you wouldn't." Uncle John finished and stumbled into the kitchen. Erica stood up and left the house as swiftly as possible. Roman followed her silently. She took a deep breath of the cool air and let it flow through her. It didn't help much; her chest was still ripping on the inside.

"Common." Roman said, "I know something that will help you." For some reason she trusted him and let him lead her to the car. Not questioning his motives as she probably should have.

**2 hour later**… Erica was really drunk for the first time ever. Really drunk meant something different to her than it did to other teenagers because she hadn't had more than a glass of Champaign at her cousin's wedding. The beer that Roman had handed her had gone straight to her head. She didn't know how he talked her into this and more than that she didn't understand why he didn't share the red wine he was drinking with her.

"Cause its not red wine love." Roman answered. She hadn't thought she had said that out loud but she must have… how else could he have known what she was thinking? Erica shrugged and tears escaped her eyes again. What he uncle had said had really hurt her, she didn't usually let people get to her like this but he had. He had gotten in her head.

"You don't think I'm perfect right?" Erica asked Roman, she sounded vulnerable. He gave her the once over and contemplated it for a moment.

"Sorry love, you seem pretty damn perfect from here." Roman said. She wrapped the oversized jacket he had given her around herself. The evening was getting chilly. The beach was long abandoned by tourists and the waves crashed onto a shore, which held only them. The sun was just disappearing beneath the horizon. Erica frowned at his answer.

"I'm not. I'm not an angel. I'm not perfect. I don't have a perfect life. I mean look where I am!" She exclaimed, "Orange County! California. The only place in the world that has a movie star as its governor! I mean everything here is so fake. Everyone has something to hide." Erica's words were getting mixed together.

"You're so cute when you're slurring your speech." Roman smiled at her.

She turned towards the ocean and whispered, "Even my drunk rants are perfect." She wiped the tears away from her eyes. Roman came up behind her.

"Why are you so afraid of being perfect." He asked.

"Because then everyone's going to have such high expectations of me and I know I'll just disappoint them." Erica told him. Turning around in his arms. They were so close now. He had his hands on her waist and his eyes were locked on hers.

"You won't disappoint me." Roman said. Making it sound so sincere instead of corny like she would usually see that line as.

"You say that now but…" Roman interrupted her by pressing his lips to hers. Cutting her off completely. She was so taken aback by how it felt that she let their first kiss go a little farther than it should have. She let his tongue explore her mouth but more than that she was concentrated on the level of intensity. Roman pulled away quicker than she wanted him to. He wasn't looking into her eyes anymore, his gaze was distant. Roman was seeing the future again… their future.

_ "Erica…" He moaned. Erica smiled; her hair was a different color now. It had much more blonde in it than red, he didn't know if he liked it or not. She was lying on his bed in his room. Staring up at the ceiling and looking as innocent as possible, "Don't be difficult." He finished._

_ "I'm always difficult." She responded with a smile playing on her lips, "You'll just have to get used to it." She kissed him swiftly on the lips and rolled off the bed. He stared up at her. He examined her from head to toe. Rested on her head was a white hair band, around her neck a golden necklace was hanging loosely. Roman recognized it immediately. It was his. It was the gold chain he had hung around his neck everyday since he became immortal. On it was a simple medallion with the word 'sempre' engraved which was Italian for 'always'. She was wearing it. He must have given it to her. This action confused Roman, never would he ever have planned to care this much about this girl… so much he would give to her the only worldly possession he had ever cared about. She was wearing a cropped light blue tank top, paired with a white miniskirt and to complete the effect, white Sketchers. He reached out to pull her back onto the bed but she just shook her head. _

_ "Common Erica…" He grumbled impatiently. She shook her head once more and just played nervously with his – or her, he supposed – necklace. _

_ "I don't want to miss anymore school, you said you'd drive me." She whined. Roman sighed and got up as well. _

_ "Fine, you win this time… but you owe me one." He growled. She responded by pecking him quickly on the lips and skipping off downstairs. _

_ "Thank you!" She called pleasantly over her shoulder. Roman rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was giving in so easily now. Time had really mellowed him. _

"Roman!" Erica cried. Snapping Roman out of it. Her hands were around his neck and she was shaking him softly. Roman turned away from her. His eyes were suddenly stone cold, "Is everything okay?" She asked. Roman leaned in and kissed her viscously again. She was stunned momentarily. When he pulled away he knew she wanted more. He wanted her to. The future she had seen of her having that much power over him had disturbed him greatly. The good thing about the future though, it changes. Erica shivered in the breeze. Her hair still had the red he had liked so much in it, unlike what it seemed to be like in the future.

"Have you ever thought about making your hair more blonde?" Roman asked, he was curious.

"The more sun it gets, the blonder it gets, I've only been here a month or so… so it's not that blonde. But it will happen… why?" Erica asked. He shrugged.

"I just thought it would look good that's all." She smiled at him but couldn't hold back the shivers. It was cooler at night and the wind was really blowing. Roman rubbed her arms to warm her up. She leaned in to kiss him softly; he obliged and then put his arm around her and led her to his car. She stopped suddenly before opening the door.

"So what does this umm… mean?" She asked, searching for his eyes.

"What?" He replied, she looked suddenly nervous

"I mean are we umm… you know… dating or something close to that? Or are we just… I don't know… seeing each other sometimes? Or am I totally miss reading this and you just happen to make out with all your friends?" Roman laughed for a long time. She bit her nails and just stared at him.

"No, I don't just make out with all my friends." Roman answered, still smiling broadly, "I don't really care what you call us. It doesn't really matter. I like you." He said, brushing her cheek lightly. She nodded, still uneasy, "You want a drive home?" She nodded again. Roman tightened his grip around her shoulder and she smiled lightly. When they got in the car she fell asleep, her head nuzzled against his neck.

Erica woke up the next morning, the sun shining through the car windshield. She moved about in the leather seat uncomfortably. Opening her eyes she realized that she wasn't quite sure where she was. The white walls of her bedroom were no longer greeting her in the morning light. The lacey baby blue duvet wasn't twisted around her body. She was lying in… a car? _Why am I in a car? _She asked herself. Her mind was struggling to remember the events of the night before. She shot up in the seat and looked around frantically when she found it hard to recall anything. Then she saw the motionless figure beside her and she relaxed. Memories came flooding back and she found that they were good memories. They reassured her. She lay a hand on Roman's arm, he groaned slightly and moved around in the seat. She shook him a bit. She wanted to go home before anyone realized she was missing. Roman opened his eyes and looked at Erica. It took a short while to take in his surroundings. He stretched and yawned.

"Morning love." He said and smiled, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. She smiled and then urged him to take her home, "So soon?" He asked. He seemed a bit disconcerted.

"I don't want my parents to know I was gone all night." She said. _Not that they will notice… _she thought. As if he knew what she was thinking he rubbed her back gently before grabbing the keys and revving the engine.

"I'm sure they're all worried sick and are going to give you hell when you get home." Roman told her. She didn't believe him though.

"You know what…" Erica changed her attitude considerably, "I don't want to go home." She smiled broadly at him. He scrutinized her expression.

"So, what do you want to do?" He asked.

"Whatever you want to do." She said and put a hand through her hair. She wanted to be carefree for once in her life. All her life she had never done one thing wrong and now she wanted to be different, alive. She wanted to live for the moment. And in this moment she was with Roman and she wanted to stay with him. Roman put the car into gear and put a hand on the steering wheel. He gave her one last mischievous smile before putting his shades over his eyes and speeding off.


	5. Chapter 4 Dreaming is not Doing

**Chapter IV - Dreaming is Not the Same as Doing **

Erica rolled over in her bed. She smiled about how good she felt today. She hasn't felt this good in a long time, since before her cousin died. She tiptoed downstairs to see that no one was yet awake in the household. She put on the coffee for everyone and reached into the cupboard for the cereal. Making herself a bowl she remembered the dream she had last night. It was about Roman. Big surprise! They were always about Roman. Something about him just stuck with her subconscious. She ate the cereal slowly as she reminisced about the amazing weekend she had spent with him. Not a care in the world. They had spent most of it at the beach, talking. Well… maybe they weren't _just_ talking. Anyways, Roman had a lot more layers than she had thought. He had a complicated childhood and had been really messed up by this girl he was in love with. She felt bad for him, she never knew what it felt like to have her heart broken because she had never known what it was like to be in love. Usually on a Monday morning she would be less than eager to get out of bed and drag herself to school but today was different. She was excited by the prospect of seeing him again.

"Is the coffee on?" Her mother stumbled down the stairs groggily. Running a hand through her morning hair. Erica nodded and greeted her with a smile. Annie looked over her daughter with surprise, "My, you look nice today." She stated. Eric was wearing a light blue sundress with a headband to match and strappy sandals. Her hair had been brushed into lovely dirty blonde waves flowing down her back. With all the sun she had been getting her hair had gotten much blonder and much silkier. She shrugged at the mention of her looks.

"Oh, please for the love of god tell me that there's coffee." Haven's mother, Christie, and Erica's aunt emerged from upstairs.

"Yes, Erica made it for us. You know she always does it just right." Annie bragged about her daughter all the time, to anyone who would listen. She was the model daughter after all. Erica was vaguely aware of Uncle John also making his way down the stairs, clutching the banister tightly but she hadn't talked to him since the incident with Roman and she didn't want to start now. She slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"If I don't leave now I'm going to be late." Erica leaned over to kiss her mom on the cheek, "Bye Mom. Bye Aunt Christie." She called over her shoulder as she walked out of the house. She had to walk to school so she had to leave early. If she didn't move it she was going to be tardy for the first time at this new school. She only got to the end of the driveway when she heard the rev of an engine. She looked up to see a familiar sports car with a familiar passenger sitting in the driver's seat. He grinned at her and nodded for her to get in. She didn't need to be asked twice. She jumped in the car and put her backpack at her feet.

"You didn't think I was going to make you walk all the way to school in this heat did you?" Roman asked and raised his eyebrows at her. She smiled and thanked him, "Well I do want something in return."

"What?" She asked. He leaned over to get closer to her and she kissed him on the lips as he was expecting her to. The kiss was sweet and innocent as all her kisses were. Roman's kisses were always rough and passionate. They balanced each other out nicely. Erica smiled brightly at him and he assessed her. She looked nice today, scratch that she looked gorgeous. It was like every part of her was meticulously planned out to make guys want her. And Roman wanted her. There was no doubt about that, "That's all you wanted?" She asked.

"No, that's not what I want in return." He responded and she looked at him slightly confused, "I expect that you would kiss me but I haven't decided what I want yet." He laughed and she kissed him again lightly on the jaw. He looked over at her with a surprised expression. She seemed affectionate today and he was planning on using that to his advantage. Roman put his car in gear and took off towards the school. He had known when he had woken up this morning that it was going to be a great day and he was right.

**40 minutes later**… he was sitting in math class. The hour seemed to stretch longer than it ever had before. Stacia was sitting right next to him. She glanced at him with a disapproving expression.

"Tell me it's not true." She whispered to him. He struggled not to role his eyes at her. And inform her that even this useless lecture was more interesting than her. But he digressed.

"I would love to tell you whatever you want my dear but you are going to have to be a little more specific." Roman smiled at her and tried to make it as genuine as possible. She smirked and her eyes slid from the board at the front of the room then back to Roman.

"You are not actually in a relationship with that… sophomore." The word looked like it hurt her to say. She could not believe that Roman would want to spend time with a lowly then with her. Being the stimulating company that she was. Roman tried not to laugh. He soon realized that she was actually insulting his 'girlfriend' of sorts and that he didn't really have to pretend to be nice to her in this moment. He was going to savor this.

"That sophomore, as you so bluntly called her, happens to be my girlfriend." Roman spat at her pointedly. Stacia visibly flinched at the wording. Roman smiled to himself. Girlfriend? Hmmm… he kind of liked that more that more than he should have. Did he really want a girlfriend? Maybe he wouldn't mind as long as it was Erica. Besides he was using her to get back at Ever, he hadn't quite decided what to do with the girl yet but it was to be contemplated all in good time. At the moment he would get to know what it feels like to have an actual girlfriend. Needless to say, Stacia didn't speak to him for the rest of the never-ending class to him great pleasure.

**Meanwhile**… Erica was drawing meaningless lines in American History class. A girl she barely knew was sitting beside her. Her name was… Tracy or Trisha… she wasn't sure. Her lines swirled into different patterns on the lined paper. Did this class never end? It seemed to be the longest class she had ever been in. Most of the time she could take interest in the subject they were learning about but history was something different, history was intolerable to her this year. Erica already knew everything, they had all learned it before, and the school was just trying to drill it further into their heads for emphasis. She stifled a yawn. Tracy or Trisha tapped her on the shoulder with her pencil. She smiled at me and Erica smiled back.

"Okay, let's cut to the chase." She said. Wow, this girl really didn't miss a minute, "Are you really dating _the_ Roman?" She whispered excitedly. Did everyone know about this? Gossip travels fast. God, she was going to get an earful from Ever at lunch today. She hoped she could sit with Roman instead of them… and wondered if that too selfish of her? She couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at the girl she was sitting next to.

"Yeah." Erica answered simply. She really was dating Roman, _the_ Roman, as the girl put it. He must have a reputation around here. She couldn't help but feel extremely lucky. The girl looked a little more than excited about the confirmation and covered her mouth with her hand to stop from squealing.

"That is so amazing he is like the coolest and hottest guy in school. Everyone was wondering why he was still single but I guess he just hadn't met the perfect girl yet right?" The teacher shushed her and she apologized quickly before smiling at Erica again. Erica tried to concentrate on the books in front of her but the task seemed impossible. All she could think about was Roman. She felt like she was the classic schoolgirl with the huge crush. It was embarrassing how much she thought about him really. But she couldn't help it he was just so… intoxicating.

It seemed like forever before the bell rang for lunchtime. Erica sighed happily as she put her books in her locker. She closed it and turned to see Roman walking down the hall with his friend, Markus, who intimidated Erica even more than Roman did. Markus smiled to himself as he heard that thought. He would have to be more friendly to Roman's new conquest in the future.

"Erica." Roman walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. He placed both hands on her hips and smiled, "I'm already bored of this hell-hole. Come away with me." He muttered in her ear. She smiled but she shook her head and he sighed. He took her hand and intertwined their fingers. She was a bit shocked by his behavior, "Everyone thinks that we're an item now. We might as well act like one." He explained and she blushed. Markus said a quick parting statement about going to the cafeteria and then left the couple. Roman cupped Eric's face in his hands. He was begging for it. He wanted to see a blissful happy moment in their future but what he got, though in the future, was much different.

_Erica was crying she couldn't stop crying. Her tears were rushing down her cheeks. Roman sat on the opposite side of the bed just watching her calmly. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Cry all you want princess it's not going to change anything." She tried to wipe her tears away but they just wouldn't go, "Oh for god's sake." Roman threw a Kleenex box at her._

_ "You're horrible!" She cried, "Do you not have an emotional bone in your body at all?" She screamed._

"_Fuck off, I said I'm sorry already what else do you want from me?" He demanded. Getting angrier by the second._

"_How could you? I thought you said you cared about me? But you don't. You've never cared about anyone other than yourself and that Drina bitch and she's dead now—" Roman hit her, hard and right across the cheek. She touched her face where he had stuck her and looked up at him… horrified. _

"You've got that distant look again. Mind telling me what's up with that?" Erica asked and laughed. Bringing his mind back to the present. He blinked and stared at the flawless girl for a long moment. Her smile faded and she looked more concerned, "Roman? What wrong?"

**A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to ****DFH-bubble401 for getting me to take initiative, get out of this rut (at 4am I might add) and get my sleepless ass to write another chapter. I would like to please remind you to review and tell me what you think of the story thus far or what you think should happen. **

**P.S I stopped reading this series after the third book. Therefore I actually have no idea what happened to the real characters after the whole Haven thing. To me… this IS what really happened.**

**P.P.S I have no idea why Erica and Roman are so mad at each other in the flash-forward. Please tell me why YOU think the reason is in the review section. **

**XOXO**

**Summer Jane**


	6. Chapter 5 A New Face

**Chapter V – A New Face**

Roman stared blankly at Erica for what seemed like a very long time. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously and couldn't help but wonder what he had been thinking about. She asked what was wrong but he didn't reply. He simply took her by the hand and led her towards the cafeteria. The door had only just closed behind them when a furious Ever confronted the couple.

"You… and _him_!" She said him with such disgust that it made Erica flinch. Roman on the other hand simply looked amused. Ever's face had gone a bright red and she was clutching her bag tightly in a clenched fist. Erica truthfully didn't know what to say to that other than…

"Yes." She squeaked nervous. She looked up at Roman who had put an arm around her waist for affect. Erica swallowed and watched as the two simply glared at each other. It was beginning to make her really uncomfortable. Damen finally came up and took her away making Erica sigh in relief. Roman laughed at her and she punched him lightly on the arm, "I don't get why she hates you so much?" Erica asked and Roman just shrugged as they sat at the table where the rest of the popular kids ate.

"I'll tell you why." Stacia slid into the seat next to Eric much to Roman's displeasure. He was watching them carefully. Erica smiled at the girl sitting next to her with deluded friendliness, "Ever's best friend, Haven, had a thing for Roman but he didn't like her back at all." Stacia grinned manipulatively and Erica glanced over at Roman with one eyebrow raised, "Some people say that that's the reason she killed herself." Erica's face fall immediately and Roman could have killed Stacia in that moment.

"That wasn't cool." Markus shoved in between her and Erica. He shot daggers at the bitch but the damage was already done. Erica looked down at her food but didn't eat anything. Actually she kind of felt sick now. Roman prodded her to eat something, which was a bit hypocritical of him considering he wasn't eating anything either. Markus didn't attempt any food either and was taking sips of this water bottle the whole time. She wanted to point this out but decided to remain silent instead. Stacia looked pleased with herself. Bad memories of Haven were invading Erica's mind now. The funeral, the look on her parent's faces, childhood happiness… it was all such a blur now and the more she thought about it the more guilty she felt for feeling completely bliss this morning. Everyone else was miserable, shouldn't she be miserable too?

"Erica." Roman whispered in her ear. She looked up to find that he was much closer than he had been before. His lips were at her ear and his eyes boring into her neck. She smiled weakly and took his hand that was lying on the table into her own, "You want to get out of here?" He asked but she just shook her head. She wasn't going to give Stacia that pleasure. Erica tried her very best to keep her mind void of thoughts about her cousin and focus on something else, like the "Welcome Back" formal that everyone was talking about. She tried bringing up the subject with Roman earlier and dropping, not too subtle, hints but to no avail.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Some junior girl squealed in her ear. She smiled politely though she had no idea who this girl was. The girl started talking about dresses and shoes and makeup etc. Erica lost interest really early on, sure she wanted to go to the dance and everything but she didn't want to talk about it for an hour. She finally excused herself from the table without making it look like she was trying to get away too much. Giving the excuse that she was going to get some more Vitamin water, which she had downed in her quest for escape from the chatty girl. Someone else had the same idea and they bumped into each other on the way to grab the water.

"Oh sorry." Erica apologized quickly and looked up at the girl she had bumped heads with (literally). She had black hair, which was drawn up in a high ponytail and had a fashion savvy look about her. She looked around the same height, as Erica except her skin tone was much darker.

"No, don't worry about it." The girl was evaluating her the same way as she was evaluating the girl, "You're a sophomore right?" Erica nodded, "Me too, I think you're in one of my classes. I'm Katelyn." She smiled and extended a hand.

"Erica. Nice to meet someone in my own grade finally." Erica introduced herself as she shook Katelyn's hand.

"Totally, I just moved here from Washington DC and I feel like I know no one around here except my parents. Pretty lame I know." Katelyn smiled sheepishly.

"DC? I'm from NYC…" Eric smiled, "Really though, I don't know why people are so hostile around here, I mean I've met some nice girls but some of the others I've encountered are…"

"Total bitches." They laughed. Finding a connection in the similarity of their situation. They walked together in the line to buy their Vitamin water and talked about common interests. Which was a lot actually, they had a lot in common. Except for their style obviously. Katelyn noticed that Erica dressed in innocent and cute outfits that seemed to match her personality. She liked it and envied her naivety. Where as Erica noticed that Katelyn wore more urban jean short, graphic tees and way too many bracelets on one wrist. She liked it too and wished that she could be more adventurous.

"Hey, what class do you have now?" Katelyn asked and glanced around the outdoor courtyard. She was surprised to see that substantial amounts of people were glancing their way. But they weren't looking at her (much to her relief) they were looking at her new friend Erica.

"Umm… gym I think." Erica thought back to her schedule. She wasn't looking foreword to that class. There was too running and doing boring fitness exercises, she didn't like it. But then again did anyone?

"I have that too!" Katelyn smiled, eager to have at least some of the same classes at Erica, "Do you want to walk with me–" Her question was cut off however by a handsome blonde boy coming over to them.

"Where'd you go? I thought you were just getting water." He kissed her on the neck before wrapping his arms around her waist protectively. Erica's stomach fluttered in response and she smiled at Roman.

"I was but then I met Katelyn. Katelyn this is Roman. Roman this is Katelyn." She introduced them and Roman smirked. He wasn't interested in Katelyn and he didn't want to stand around and talk to her.

"Common I'll walk you to class." He nodded once at Katelyn before taking Erica's hand and beginning to drag her off. Erica looked back at the girl who was left standing alone with a stunned expression. She shrugged in response and waved. Then she caught up to Roman and enjoyed walking hand in hand with him to his locker. He opened it and took out his chemistry textbook and a binder. He truly didn't need any of these things but he brought them for show anyways. They were practically empty since he never took notes.

"I thought you were walking me to my class?" Erica pointed out and leaned back on the locker next to his as he fiddled around for a pen.

"I need books too. Don't be selfish." Roman reminded her. She rolled her eyes and sighed leaning her head back against the locker.

"Katelyn seems nice don't you think?" Erica asked Roman, tilting her head to look at him. Roman shrugged casually. He closed his locker and turned to wrap his arms around her, "What? You don't think so?"

"I met her very briefly so I don't think I have an opinion yet love." He kissed her on the lips and she smiled, "Besides I don't want you to be thinking about her. You should be thinking about me." She laughed and tried to hide her embarrassment. She did think about him. She thought about him way too much. She had hardly thought of anything else the last few days, "You're meeting me after school." He decided suddenly.

"Why? Where are we going?" She asked excitedly.

"My house." He said and kissed her one more time before heading off to class. Leaving her in the hall looking slightly frightened.

"Oh." She mumbled to herself.

"So he wants you to come to his house?" Katelyn asked as she stumbled to hit the field hockey ball towards Erica. Erica stopped it easily with her stick and passed it back to her with force, "Wow, you're really good at this." Katelyn observed and Erica shrugged.

"I mean, is that a bad thing, should I be worried?" Erica's mind was still on Roman and wondering if this was going a step too far for a new relationship. She wanted someone's advice and Katelyn was trying to be helpful at least.

"Just because he asked you over doesn't mean he wants to do anything…" She thought about it for a second and then changed her mind, "It doesn't mean that you have to do anything." Katelyn corrected herself. Erica nodded and bit her lip nervously. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. Was that bad?

Roman was staring off into space in the science lab. He was never paying attention anyways but usually he was flirting with the cute girl who sat next to him, Katie. Now he was just thinking. He was thinking about what he was going to do to Erica tonight. How she would react. He was thrilled to be taking her home. So thrilled in fact that he complete forgot about the disturbing vision he had gotten when he touched Erica earlier. He wasn't the least bit concerned anyways.

**A/N Hi everyone, thank you so much for the feedback that I've gotten on this story! It's really nice to hear from you so if you could please keep that up. This chapter was mostly Erica central and featured her new friend Katelyn. Who will inevitably come into the story in a more prominent way later on. But there might be some quite scandalous events coming up in the next chapter… or at least Roman thinks there will be, I guess we'll have to see. Oh and please review!**


	7. Chapter 6 Blank

**Chapter VI – Blank**

_Roman. What is there to say about Roman other than how much I am crazy about him? Really, I feel like without him my whole world would fall apart. I think I'm in love with him and soon he's going to see that he feels the same way about me. Ever is acting crazy again. Trying to convince me that he's a bad guy but she's just jealous that he likes me and not her. It's pathetic really. I mean she already has Damen can't she just leave it at that? But no she tries to "warn" me about Roman over and over again. It's getting really old. None of that matters though. Tonight is the night of Mile's going away party and I am so excited. Roman's taking me and then afterwards we're going to hang out… alone! _

Erica dropped the journal and took a few steps backwards. She was trying extremely hard not to fall over. It was all too much. The entry she had just read of Haven's journal was dated back to the night she died. The writing didn't seem to be from the hand of a girl who was contemplating suicide. No, she seemed perfectly happy. Roman. Erica sat down on the bed to try and stop the room from spinning out of control. Roman was with her cousin the night she died. _Roman's taking me and then afterwards we're going to hang out… alone!_ Alone. The word rang in Erica's head like an endless siren. That was what she was doing right now, hanging out with Roman alone. No, there is nothing wrong with this. Haven was just in love with Roman. She was depressed and delusional. Erica tried extremely hard to believe it but found that she couldn't. If this was so normal and was just a sick delusion of Haven's… why did Erica find the journal hidden amongst the other books in Roman's bedroom?

5 Hours Earlier…

Erica tried to sit as still as possible in Roman's car as he drove her home. Though she couldn't quite stop fidgeting. She was extremely nervous after all. Roman didn't seem to be picking up on it though and it made the air thick with tension. She shifted her gaze to look out the passenger window. Everything was moving so fast. And she didn't just mean the car. Roman turned to smile at her and she tried to mimic his expression of ease but couldn't quite pull it off. He moved his head to stare back at the highway when he spoke.

"You look… unsettled." He raised an eyebrow. She wasn't going to be any fun if she was nervous. Maybe he should get her drunk again. She was a lot more relaxed when intoxicated. No, he would pretend to care about her feelings and act at her "comfort level" before he resorted to hard liquor.

"It's nothing." She muttered and continued to look out the window. Her hair had already become very blonde and it reacted to the sun. There was only a hint of red left in it. He didn't really mind that she didn't look anything like Drina anymore. He didn't know why but he liked her blonde hair more and wanted to red to completely disappear.

"It is something. Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked and took her hand into his own. Massaging her palm gently. She shook initially shook her head and remained quiet but he knew she had something on her mind that she wanted to talk about very badly. Finally it burst out.

"Why did you ask me to go over to your house?" She asked. He couldn't say that the question surprised him. He was more surprised that she hadn't asked before they had even gotten into the car. But he didn't answer her question with another question.

"Because I thought we could hang out. You know without parents or aunts and uncles or other friends. Just us… alone." Roman smiled at her and she seemed to relax a bit more in her seat, "We could watch a movie, eat popcorn. Then the sunset, I've got a great view from my balcony, glass of wine." He made everything seem so delicate. She couldn't say that it wasn't tempting. It was. But she had to keep her guard up if she wanted to leave with her purity, which she did.

The house was incredible. There was no denying that. In New York terms, Roman's house was Upper East Side Manhattan classy, compared to it, where Erica was living was practically… Queens. She didn't mean to gawk but she couldn't help herself. It was… overpowering. She twirled around in the main entrance, much to Roman's amusement. Her dress twirled around her legs. He liked watching her so free and eccentric. There was no comparison. She beamed at him and practically begged him to give her a tour of the house. He was happy to oblige of course.

The house was perhaps more amazing then she originally thought. Every new room brought a different story, a different mystery. The artifacts of different worlds on top of every bookshelf or coffee table took her breath away. She wanted to explore it for hours. It seemed like a museum just for her. She didn't know what to say as Roman showed her around. They were almost done to tour when she inadvertently opened to door to Roman's bedroom. Roman smiled as she ran her fingers over the ancient books and hand carved amour. She got to the bedside drawers and stopped.

"Who's this?" She asked. His eyes grew completely cold and her smile faded. She was holding up a picture of a red headed girl. The picture seemed old and tattered but was beautifully displayed in an antique frame. Roman snatched the picture away from Erica promptly, "That's her isn't it? The girl who broke your heart." Roman didn't answer the question. He didn't really need to, "She's very pretty." Erica mused and moved on to examining the door, which led outside to the balcony. The topic was dropped and Roman put the picture frame face down on his bedside table. He followed her outside and kissed her lips softly. A smile returned to her delicate face.

"Are you thirsty?" He asked and she nodded, "Stay here and relax, I'll go get us something." She sat down on the patio chair and crossed her legs. Smiling up at him without saying a word. He disappeared from view. Erica was extremely tempted to return to the room and look at the picture again, not to mention look for more evidence of this red headed girl. She didn't want to seem jealous though and new she'd get caught if she tried to snoop around.

The balcony was extremely comfortable and the sky turned from one beautiful shade to another. Erica was a bit tipsy and consumed quite a lot of wine. Things like that went right to her head. The sunset came soon enough and she smiled and gushed like the true girl she was. They shared one too many of her embarrassing stories, which led to more making out. Erica felt free and completely herself. Something she hadn't felt for a long time. She also felt like she could tell Roman anything and everything.

"I mean they all think I'm this person that I'm not and I guess I don't want to shatter that elusion but it's so hard to maintain. I'm always so trapped in that house. They're suffocating me. My aunt and uncle are just trying to make it through the days but sometimes it's like they're not even there. How could Haven do this to them, it's just beyond selfish you know?" Erica covered her mouth quickly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to speak badly of the dead."

"It's alright." Roman reassured her and rubbed her arm. He liked that she opening up to him like this. It helped him get a better look into what she was like. How he could get inside her head.

"Thanks. I can't believe I'm telling you all this. It just feels so good to talk to someone. I've been maimed so long by the memory of my cousin. You should try living in my house for one day. The silence, it just gets to you after a while." She was swooped up into a world of memories. Roman watched her as she contemplated what she had just said. He didn't want to interrupt her. She snapped out of it and turned to look at him. He was smiling lightly and leaned in a bit closer. She closed the space between them and kissed him hard. It was her favorite thing to do in the world. She couldn't deny how hot he made her feel. The kiss got more heated and his hands got entangled in her hair. She leaned in so much that she found herself sitting on his lap. She didn't even feel awkward or like she wanted to pull away. He made her feel totally calm and at home. Roman got a little carried away though and started pulling up her dress. She fought with his hands constantly. She was about ready to slap his wandering fingers away when the phone rang, conveniently breaking the moment. Roman reached for the telephone.

"Hello?" Erica could hear the murmuring of a response on the other end. She was a bit disappointed but mostly just relieved. She hid it well though. Roman put his hand over the receiver, "I need to take this." He told her and she got up so that he could leave the balcony and go back into the house. She heard the footsteps going all the way down the stairs. She sat there and fiddled her thumbs. Maybe it was the buzz of the wine but she suddenly couldn't stop herself anymore. She needed to see if there were any more pictures of that girl and if Roman was harboring an obsession to someone that was not his girlfriend. She wanted to trust him, she really did, but her better half lost in the end.

The Present…

Erica shook slightly. Her mouth was dry and her breathing shallow. She shoved Haven's diary back into the bookshelf and tried to slow her racing heart. She kept telling herself that it didn't mean anything. The girl in the photograph was at the very back of her mind now. She lay down on the bed and tried taking deep breaths in and out slowly to calm herself. Roman came into the room shortly after to see his girlfriend lying on the bed with her eyes closed. He furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if she had passed out. He hadn't given her that much to drink.

"Erica, are you okay?" He asked and she opened her eyes slowly only to find that they were beginning to water. She looked at him and found that his calm face made her even more anxious, "What's wrong?" She looked sick and afraid.

"Nothing." She lied and not very smoothly, "Can you take me home I'm not feeling very well." Roman sat on the bed and kissed her on the cheek.

"You seemed fine a few minutes ago." He reminded her and she sat up quickly. Getting a head rush. She ignored it and wrapped her arms around her knees tightly. Erica swallowed and shook her head.

"I know but it suddenly hit me. I just want to go to bed."

"You can sleep here, I'll take care of you." He winked. It made her feel more nauseous then she already was.

"No thanks, my parents will wonder where I am." She evaded.

"Call them, tell them that you're sleeping at a friends house."

"I can't."

"Why not I thought you hated it there?" He countered. Her hostility towards him was confusing him. Before he had taken that phone call she had been fine, more than fine, she had been all over him. They were having a good time. What had she done when he had left the room? The room…

"I don't really. I just want to go home." Erica insisted. Roman's head turned sharply towards the bookshelf. Erica tried not to make any sudden movements that would give her away.

"What were you doing love…" He dragged out every last word.

"Nothing. I told you I just don't feel well."

"I don't believe you…" He said and she gulped. Roman walked towards to bookshelf and pulled out the journal that had been misplaced. There was a crease in the last page. Someone had closed it in a hurry, "You shouldn't have been going through my stuff."

"I— I didn't." She stuttered. He turned towards her sharply.

"Don't lie to me. Do you understand? Don't EVER lie to me!" He shouted at her. His eyes were burning with rage. All she could do was nod meekly and back further away from him on the bed. Roman inhaled deeply and seemed to calm himself down a bit, "Okay. It's fine. Don't worry about it darling. Tomorrow morning you won't remember any of this."

"Wait… what?" She breathed and then started screaming when an eerie smile crept over Roman's face.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!**

**XOXO**

**Summer Jane**


	8. Chapter 7 Something Special

**Chapter VII – Something Special**

**I'm sorry but this chapter is going to be short. I didn't know where it was going to lead me but it led me to a short chapter. This one is kind of just setting up the next chapter. Please review anyways!**

Erica drifted happily through the halls. Second period was such a waste of time, she thought to herself as she went to her locker. She was soon confronted by Katelyn who seemed to be waiting eagerly to see her. Erica smiled genuinely and greeted her happily. She didn't know exactly why she felt so bliss today but she did.

"So…" Katelyn pressed her eagerly. Slightly nudging her as they walked to her locker together. Erica swayed her hips in her light blue skirt and white top. Her air held it's usual cuteness.

"So… what?" Erica mimicked Katelyn's tone and looked at her slightly puzzled. Katelyn rolled her eyes.

"C'mon tell me what happened last night!"

"Nothing happened last night." Erica said and thought back, "Nothing out of the regular that is…" She couldn't understand why her friend seemed so excited about the events of her evening.

"Don't play dumb, when you went over to Roman's house? What happened?" Katelyn pressed on. She figured it must be something good or else Erica wouldn't be so happy or so resistant to tell her about it.

"I didn't go over to Roman's house last night." Erica said and looked at Katelyn with a perplexed expression, "Why would you think that?"

"Because you said you were going to."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did, in gym, we were playing field hockey remember?" Katelyn insisted. Erica looked back and thought about yesterday. Come to think of it she didn't really remember any of the details.

"No…" She said slowly. Katelyn just looked at her as if maybe this was a joke, "I think I would remember if I went to my boyfriend's house last night. But I didn't okay?" Erica said firmly. Then smiled, "Speak of the devil." Katelyn turned around to see Roman walking down the hall with his classic smirk. She couldn't help but feel her own heart flutter a bit at his Raybans and the way he just looked like her owned the world. Then she turned quickly to Erica and hoped she didn't notice. She hadn't. Erica was too busy looking around for something to do so that she could pretend she wasn't completely electrified by Roman's presence. That feeling didn't last long though and as soon as he was within reaching distance she all but through herself into his arms. He was more than accommodating, however, and wouldn't stop showering her with kisses.

"Good morning darling." Roman said, "You seem excited to see me."

"Well apparently she wasn't at your house last night." Roman turned sharply to look at Katelyn. The look he gave her frightened her and she closed her mouth immediately.

"I don't know where you got that in your head but it's not true!" Erica protested, "Maybe you just heard a rumor and you got confused." She suggested optimistically. Roman wrapped an arm around his girlfriend protectively and continued to stare coldly at Katelyn. He didn't like this new girl and especially didn't want her hanging around with Erica. He kissed Erica's neck tenderly and smiled at the sureness in her voice.

"No, she'll be coming over to my house tonight." He stated. Thinking that he would make sure that tonight went a lot better than the night before.

"I will?" Erica raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to?" Roman flashed her a smile, knowing it would make her swoon and she couldn't refuse him. Not that she could usually refuse him anyways.

"Of course I do." Erica tried to be brave but suddenly she felt like something wasn't right. She felt uneasy and very unsure of herself. Something about what Katelyn had said stuck in her mind, "Umm… Katelyn do you want to walk with me to class?" She asked but Roman took her hand possessively.

"Let me take you, I haven't seen you all morning." He faked a smile and kissed her lips. He did care about her but mainly he cared about her not remembering anything of what happened last night. Erica seemed to brighten a bit and skipped to her next class, her fingers intertwined with his.

Later that night Roman watched Erica fawn over his house all over again. He took his bedroom and kept an eye on her as she looked around in awe. The picture of Drina was nowhere to be found. As for the diary, it was neatly hidden away from any hopes of Erica finding it. She looked good today. Just like she looked good everyday. Instead of going out to the balcony, Roman patted a seat next to him on his bed.

"I have a surprise for you." He said and got up to get something from his drawer. She waited anxiously for him to return. When he did he had a velvet box in his hand. She bit her bottom lip nervously as she opened it. Inside was a pendant. The very same pendant that she recognized as the one Roman had always worn around his neck. She was taken aback, "It's something that's always meant the world to me. I've had it for an extremely long time and now I want you to wear it." He took the necklace out of the box and fastened it around her neck before she even had a moment to respond.

"Wow." That was all she managed to say. She stared up into Roman's eyes and leaned up slightly to kiss him. He pulled back to inspect the pendant and smiled. It was like he had branded her.

"Now I want you to give me something special of yours." He said slyly and leaned in for another kiss. He pushed her gently down on the bed. He started applying kisses on her neck with passion. His hands moved to her waist.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently.

"I gave you something that I've held on to for a long time now I want you to do the same." Roman explained. She shook her head lightly. She still didn't understand. Well, until Roman started slipping off her t-shirt. Then she started to get what he was saying.

"No, Roman, I can't." She pushed him away.

"I know you think it's going to be scary but it's really not." He hovered over her to look her straight in the eye, "Erica you're not going to regret this trust me. I really care about you." She swallowed but was still unsure.

"Okay..." Roman grinned widely and was about to continue with where he left off to further reassure her of her decision when he touched her he was propelled into the future for an instant.

_He saw lighted candles and dimmed lights. It was his room but it had been decked out. She was kneeling on the bed next to him. He watched her as she pulled her shirt over her head. The pendant glowed with the reflection of the flame of a candle. She lay down on her back and he moved over her. _

_ "Are you sure?" He asked and kissed her neck. It was her favorite spot. _

_ "I never thought you'd be asking that." She laughed._

_ "Erica, I want you so much but I won't do anything you don't want me to." He reassured her. She nodded and took a deep breath. _

_ "Then I'm ready." _

Roman's eyes refocused on Erica who didn't look anywhere near as decisive as she did in the vision. A lamp on his bedside table lighted the room. There were no candles, no dimmed lights, nothing at all romantic. She pushed himself off of her in an instant.

"I'm sorry." He stated. She moved to sit up, "This is all wrong." He shook his head to clear himself from the daze he was in.

"What's all wrong? Did I do something?" She asked.

"No, it's my fault. You deserve better." He stated and went over to peck her on the lips, "Your first time should be special. I want it to be special for you. It shouldn't happen like this." Tears brimmed her eyes and she threw her arms around his. Hugging him tightly.

"I love you." She said before covering her mouth with her hand in horror.


End file.
